Image video slideshow of Day 2 of Shiprocked on Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Hosting this afternoon was Art of Dying and Nonpoint.

Kelly Panoc for Perfect Image Kellections

Shiprocked 2014 - Day 2 - Great Stirrup Cay Concerts

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Monday, January 27th, marked the second day of the Shiprocked cruise and also a wake up call in port along Great Stirrup Cay island in the Bahamas. This exclusive island paradise is owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines specifically for these rocking concert getaway cruises. This oasis of a background provides a fun filled, five hour long rocking day on this private island just for Shiprocked guests to take over for a few days.

Image slideshow of Great Stirrup Cay island, meet and greets and two great live performances from Art of Dying and Nonpoint.

A brief sail on a guest tender boat to this rock carved Caribbean oasis and it was a day of meet and greets with guests and their favorite bands or performers; however, the two great double rosters for the island stage right on the beach were the main attraction. Complete with a full complimentary buffet on Great Stirrup Cay, numerous beverage stations and one of the most beautiful resort beaches witnessed, this trip is a well planned escape from any music fan's working reality.

This island provides private areas of beach for those guests or performers that may prefer a bit of private lounge time, parasailing provides the best aerial views of this oasis and there is also some great island shopping available to guests. Shiprockers may get in shape and paddle board for a spell or float aimlessly on the water upon a rented inner tube big enough for four people, easily. One thing is predictable, and that is how these guests all come together from all island locations to celebrate the live performances upon these pristene sands of Great Stirrup Cay.

The Bacardi Beach Bar provided the setting for the bands meet and greets to begin. Endless lines of fans forming on the bar deck and overflowing into the island, just to snap a quick picture and say hello to their favored performers. This same bar was the setting for numerous interviews with bands and band members to talk more about their cruise experiences and what they prefer on these excursions, if anything at all, to standard road touring.

This particular afternoon brought the double roster to the island stage featuring: Art of Dying and Nonpoint. Art of Dying are a five piece rock ensemble hailing from Canada and fronted by the charismatic Jonny Hetherington. The band was founded by Mr. Hetherington and guitarist Greg Bradley, in the ambition of creating sound as sonically pleasing as their favored influences, but with a more positive message or optimism than many dark and harder bands offered. Art of Dying does this entirely within their live show, as it is straight forward rock and roll with a message of hope and strength tucked inside.

The live show thatArt of Dying offers is a smack down of rock energy that leaves you wanting more. Signed to Intoxication/Reprise Records that is owned by David Draiman and Dan Donegan of Disturbed, it is clear once seeing this band perform live, exactly why these lads appealed to the members of Disturbed. Supplying live singles such as: 'Get Thru This', 'Die Tryng' and 'Completely', Art of Dying grabs your attention and does not let go. For some grand live rock music with a little heart buried underneath, please take the time to sample the Art of Dying and catch a show, you will never be disappointed. These lads did grant an interview and those pieces will publish shortly.

Nonpoint was indeed the best band to have bust out this first afternoon of beach rocking madness. They took the island stage around 3:00 PM to rock all guests ready to hit the Norwegian Pearl for more all night rocking. Elias and the lads of Nonpoint just make their presence known walking onto a live stage, they walk onto it like they own it and rightfully so, they do so successfully every single time. There is no energy out there like Nonpoint, in that they deliver their own message and the raw energy of the music gets that message through loud and clear!

This was a true treat to see Nonpoint hosting this grand Caribbean afternoon concert. Elias Soriano usually walks to the edge of the stage and just looks out at the crowd to grab their attention and it is off and running pure aggressive and rocking mayhem on a stage. These lads truly love what they do and any live performance will transfer that passion and energy from them to the crowd and all right back around again. They hit this beach crowd with selections such as: 'That Day' and 'I Said It' from the recent self titled release, with a few reaches back to the earlier days of the Recoil album and beyond to simply satisfy any Nonpoint fan on this adventure. An interview with the power generators of Nonpoint took place on this same beach the following afternoon and will publish with others to follow shortly.

Following these impressive live performances, it was time to prepare to head back onto the Norwegian Pearl to rock the remainder of this beautiful day and evening away. See everyone back on the boat!

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Kelly Panoc is a freelance graphic/web designer, photographer and writer residing in SW Florida. She believes in straight delivery of info with a dash of personal opinion added. The written word is a powerful thing and should be respected in that sense. Kelly attends live sports events on all levels, concerts, and local art shows for inspiration for her pieces. Please take your time and visit for a while, also feel free to email Kelly direct feedback or to cover your event: kelections@yahoo.com.